Joe Keithley, a.k.a. Joey Shithead, announces that he'll run for mayor of Burnaby

Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan has trounced all of his opponents since he first ran for mayor in 2002.

His NDP-affiliated Burnaby Citizens Association has held all seats on council and school board since the 2008 election, making it the most powerful local political machine in B.C.

But that hasn't dissuaded local punk musician Joe Keithley from putting his name forward as the next challenger to the BCA's hegemony.

The man also known as Joey Shithead with D.O.A. says he's going to run for mayor with a full slate of Green candidates "to restore long-lost democracy to our city hall".

Like Corrigan, Keithley pledges to fight the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

Keithley is also calling for term limits, freezing property taxes for two years, stopping demovictions in Metrotown, and taking control of citizens' committees out of the mayor's hands.

“People distrust politicians and I would say with good reason because they don’t listen to the voters," Keithley said in a news release. "I will fight for and demand that everyone’s voice is heard.”

In 2017 as a provincial Green candidate, Keithley came third in Burnaby-Lougheed, attracting 13.77 percent of the votes.

Councillor and former NDP president Sav Dhaliwal and Mayor Derek Corrigan are key players in the Burnaby Citizens Association, which is the most powerful municipal political machine in the province.Charlie Smith

Keithley's announcement comes three days after Corrigan announced a landmark deal with the provincial government for a massive increase in public transit in Metro Vancouver.

Corrigan chairs the TransLink Mayors' Council, which has won support for two light-rail lines in Surrey, a SkyTrain extension along Broadway in Vancouver, and an eight percent increase in bus service across the region.

For many years Corrigan has been a close ally of Premier John Horgan.

B.C. Green Leader Andrew Weaver campaigned with Keithley in the last provincial election.

The BCA was founded more than 60 years ago and it elected Alan Emmott as reeve in the late 1950s. Over Emmott's 30-year political career, he went on to become Burnaby's first mayor and served as chair of the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

Other BCA mayors over the years were Bob Prittie, Tom Constable, Bill Copeland, and Doug Drummond.

According to the BCA website, the party has held a majority on school board since 1983 and a majority on council since 1987.

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